120GB SSDs

Ok so when I buy a 15" MBP in August I would want to get a SSD (not from apple) to install.

It would be SATA III for maximum performance, but I wondered why some have brilliant performance, and some dont, for similar prices.

The OCZ vertex/agility 3 and Corsair Force Series 3 all have around 550MB/s read and 500MB/s write.
However, the Intel 510 has 400MB/s read and 210MB/s write. The write speed is only 10MB/s higher than what intel say would would get on SATA II.

I dont understand this performance difference for similarly priced SSDs.

If the performace difference is there, why would anyone ever buy Intel 510 over the OCZ Vertex 3??? (Unless quoted figures for OCZ are inflated???)

Also, a related question that someone might want to answer while reading; for every manufacturer is the performace of the 250GB SSD's always a lot better, or is it just intel? Both read and write are 100MB/s faster on 250GB.

All other things being equal, the higher capacity drive is almost always faster. I believe it is related to the number of channels and space left for over-provisioning/maintenance than the actual storage space.

People pick the Intel 510 over the Vertex 3 because the performance advantage is not noticeable in real world use but the should the drive fail... well you would notice that.

All other things being equal, the higher capacity drive is almost always faster. I believe it is related to the number of channels and space left for over-provisioning/maintenance than the actual storage space.

People pick the Intel 510 over the Vertex 3 because the performance advantage is not noticeable in real world use but the should the drive fail... well you would notice that.

Thanks for the reply. I'm in the UK and hopefully going to university next year. Results day is August 18th, and on that day (assuming i get into uni ) I will be able to take my acceptance letter to the apple store for 14/15% educational discount.

So yeah, ive got ages to decide, just want to make an informed decision when the time comes.

The reason for me getting SSD is just for the performance upgrade in simple things like load times. I wont be doing any video editing or photoshop. I will be browsing web, word processing, mathematical modelling (MATLAB and R) and playing counter strike source

Oh and thanks for that review. It compares the main SSDs im looking at so very useful.
I can see either Intel or Corsair coming, depending on which is cheapest really. (probably corsair)

All other things being equal, the higher capacity drive is almost always faster. I believe it is related to the number of channels and space left for over-provisioning/maintenance than the actual storage space.

People pick the Intel 510 over the Vertex 3 because the performance advantage is not noticeable in real world use but the should the drive fail... well you would notice that.

You are correct about the 510 but not in Apple MBPs, it is current problematic if installed in a 2011. Do a search of the forums and you will see. The vertex 3 seems to work great if the firmware is upto date. You need a PC though to update the firmware

You are correct about the 510 but not in Apple MBPs, it is current problematic if installed in a 2011. Do a search of the forums and you will see. The vertex 3 seems to work great if the firmware is upto date. You need a PC though to update the firmware

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This is true. My OWC 6G SSD is running well today and for Australia it was quite cheap ...

Staff Member

You are correct about the 510 but not in Apple MBPs, it is current problematic if installed in a 2011. Do a search of the forums and you will see. The vertex 3 seems to work great if the firmware is upto date. You need a PC though to update the firmware

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I have a Intel 510 in a 2011 13" MBP and it works perfectly. I have not seen any posts about problems with the Intel 510 since Apple released the EFI update a few weeks ago. That seems to have fixed it. You can search the forum for problems with any SSD, including the Vertex 3, and find somebody with an issue.

To OP: I would ignore the manufacturers specs and rely on test results from trusted reviewers. I think all the manufacturers are cherry picking results from synthetic tests to make their product look the best. In actual usage you are not going to notice any difference among the newer SATA III drives.

For example, read this part of an Anandtech test that shows under heavy workload the Vertex 3 and Intel 510 are neck and neck, with the Intel 510 actually ahead in a couple of the tests.

I think either the Vertex 3 or Intel 510 are both just fine. Go with whichever manufacturer you think will provide the best reliability and support for you.

I have a Intel 510 in a 2011 13" MBP and it works perfectly. I have not seen any posts about problems with the Intel 510 since Apple released the EFI update a few weeks ago. That seems to have fixed it. You can search the forum for problems with any SSD, including the Vertex 3, and find somebody with an issue.

To OP: I would ignore the manufacturers specs and rely on test results from trusted reviewers. I think all the manufacturers are cherry picking results from synthetic tests to make their product look the best. In actual usage you are not going to notice any difference among the newer SATA III drives.

For example, read this part of an Anandtech test that shows under heavy workload the Vertex 3 and Intel 510 are neck and neck, with the Intel 510 actually ahead in a couple of the tests.

I think either the Vertex 3 or Intel 510 are both just fine. Go with whichever manufacturer you think will provide the best reliability and support for you.

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Thank you for the reply.

I think I need to remember im not one of the people who will really need the fastest SSD out there. My current PC has a 320GB Samsung F1, and our family laptop has a 500GB HDD which is slow, so a SATA I SSD would feel fast to me.

I think I will go for reliability and price, and with a SATA III drive and my needs I cant really go wrong.

I have read people needing a PC to update firmware. Is this true on all SSD's? Are there any SSD's that are 'made' for apple, so they say 'this will work on OS X'?

Staff Member

I have read people needing a PC to update firmware. Is this true on all SSD's? Are there any SSD's that are 'made' for apple, so they say 'this will work on OS X'?

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There are currently no SSD that have a Mac (OS X) native updater. Some manufacturers like OCZ, Intel, and Crucial provide a CDRom ISO you can DL and use it to make a boot CD or thumb drive to update firmware on a Mac. I have read here that the OCZ CD does not yet work on Sandybridge (2011) Macbook Pros because the Linux kernal does yet recognize Sandybridge. I just saw something about a new Linux kernal that does work, so I suspect this will make its way into the boot CDs in time and solve the issue.

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